Home organization does not come easy for me. I like the idea of simplicity, and a clutter-free home sounds like the answer to all my problems. But nothing about minimalism comes natural to me.
I like options.
I like choice.
Right now I'm reading 6 different books. I have 18 tabs open on my phone that I intend to come back to later. Perhaps I should stick with just 1 book but that's boring. I'm ever finding new ideas that I'd like to delve into but, alas, a child is crying or the pot … [Read more...]

It's only the middle of June and we've already hit 90 degree weather here in Tennessee! While I love sunshine and warm weather, I do not like a hot house. In fact, earlier this week I turned the oven on in the afternoon to fix a roast and could not cool down until I took a cold bath later that night! That's when I decided to create a Summer Meal Plan.
My Summer Meal Plan consists of recipes that do not require the use of the oven. Instead, I'm opting to use my crockpot, Instant Pot, … [Read more...]

Wow! It has been entirely too long since I last posted. December. But we officially finished our school year last Friday, so I have decided to try my hand at writing again.
Not that I'm a wealth of wisdom, but I want to share with you some of the things that God has been teaching me as a wife, a mother, a homeschool mama, and as a woman.
If you've been following my blog for any time, you may have noticed that good books are central to my life and our homeschool. Since I haven't posted … [Read more...]

December 2016 was, despite the busyness of the holidays and the arrival of a new baby, a month of rest and lots of good books! I am honestly amazed at how much we read in December, but that's largely due to how I revised our homeschool for the holiday season so that we only did the 3 R's plus our Advent Bible readings, composer study, and afternoon reading time.
In 2016, my goal was to read 25 books but, according to my Goodreads board, I actually read 41 books. This year my goal is to read … [Read more...]

I have not been a committed blogger this past year for a host of reasons but namely because of the fullness of life. Staying home with our four girls is the most rewarding occupation but there is little time to write. So you may not have even known that we were expecting . . . our FIFTH daughter! This pregnancy was definitely the hardest, and when contractions started around week 37, I had a gut feeling this wee little one would arrive much sooner than our others.
And she did.
Here is … [Read more...]

November has flown by! While I am really excited about the upcoming holiday season, I admit I'm feeling a tad anxious about all the busyness of this time of year. We have a new baby set to arrive in early January, so my mind is racing as I think about all that needs to be done this month.
This month we finished Term 1 of school, had a week off for exams, and then spent the last weeks of November reading Thanksgiving-related books, so my girls' assigned books have been fewer than in … [Read more...]

October came and went so quickly that I am just now sitting down to see what we read last month. I have never been good about tracking our "read" books - until this school year. I have a Master Checklist for our school work on which I include the books the girls are reading as well as how many pages/chapters they are expected to read daily. This list/schedule has been a real lifesaver for me! Plus, if I remember, I try to post my books and read-alouds on Goodreads.
Here's what we read in … [Read more...]

Tomorrow this girl turns 8.
She is not your typical firstborn. Kate is strong, fearless, and headstrong. She can go with the flow, or she can create her own tidal wave. Flexible but determined, Kate is a natural born leader who isn't afraid to take charge, yet she has a caring, gentle side especially with her younger siblings. She's responsible, witty, and beautiful -- inside and out. I couldn't be more proud of her.
When I think about how my children are shaping me into the woman … [Read more...]

Being a parent has been, by far, THE hardest, most personally refining experience of my life. The love a parent feels for her child is indescribable. Yet, the day-in, day-out struggles can be grueling, especially when we neglect to see the big picture.
In his latest book -- Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family, Paul David Tripp provides that big-picture view of God's plan for parents and outlines 14 key principles centered on the Gospel that will give your … [Read more...]

Earlier this week I shared 3 booklists for my 3rd grader, which is a compilation of living books my oldest will be reading through this school year. I truly enjoy seeing what people read and getting book recommendations for myself and my girls, so I thought I'd share with you the books we read in September.
Read-Alouds
We have read-aloud times throughout the day, but breakfast is consistently the best time for us. Last month, we read 2 books together exclusively during that 30 minute … [Read more...]